Improvement in pumps for deep wells



UNITED STATES PATENT. l OFFICE. l

JAMES OLD, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 34,444, dated February18, 18t2.

To all whom/ it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES OLD, of Pittsburg, in the county of Alleghenyand State of Pen nsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Pumps, designed to be used in wells of extraordinary depth, such as'oilwells and salt-wells; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming part of this Specification, in which-Figure l is avertical section of my improved pump. Fig. 2 isa verticalsection of a portion of the tubing of the pump, the lower end of whichis to be coupled to the top of the pumpchamber shown in Fig. 1,exhibiting also the hollow piston-rod with its air-Vessel and coupling.Fig. 3 isa vertical section of another of the joints or pieces of thetubing of the well. Fig. et is a vertical section of the top of thehollow piston-rod. Figs. 5 to 10 are cross-sections of various parts ofthe pump and tubing, which will be explained more fully hereinafter.

1 In the several figures like letters of reference designate similarparts of the apparatus.

Oil and salt wells are usually from four to six inches in diameter, andare bored to great depths, varying from one hundred to four or even sixhundred feet. These bores must necessarily pass through several veins offresh water, which, unless prevented from so doing, would descend to thebottom of the well and require to be pumped to the surface, thus causingin oijl-wells a great deal of extra pumping, and in salt-wells mixingwith and diluting the salt-water. To prevent the passage of the surfaceand fresh spring water to the bottom of these Wells, metallic tubes ofsmaller diameter than the wells are jointed together and passed down thebore, thus forming a continuous pipe to within a short distance of thebottom of the well. Around the lowest section or piece of this tubing istied a bag of fiax-seed. The water inthe well causes the seeds to swellsufficiently to fill up the space between the tube and the circumferenceof the well, thus prevent-ing the descent of water below that pointoutside the tube.

The lowest section of this tube is the cylinder of the pump by which thewell is to be worked, and as the'space outside the pump is closed by theseed-bag, the passage of `air and gas (as well as ofv water) is cut off,so that y neither can pass up or down, excepting through the pump andthe tube above it.

In oil and salt wells, but especially in the former, there is alwaysmore or less gas arising from fissures in the rock at the bottom of thewell, which, having, as just explained,no other way of escape, must passthrough the pump, interfering very considerably with its action. If thegas is evolved in small quantities and with slight pressure, it will,after passing up through the lower valve of the pump, accumulate in thepump-cylinder between the valves, being hindered from rising through theupper Valve by the pressure of the column of fluid in the tube above thepump, which pressure is very great when the well is deep. Thisaccumulation of gas in the pump-chamber acts as an air-cushion to impedethe action of the lower valve. If, however, the volume of gas emittedfrom the well should be large andv forced out with Violence, as is oftenthe case, the gaswill make its way through both of thel valves, keepingthem open until the pressure is relieved, thus preventing the formationof a vacuum in the pump-chamber and completely stopping the action ofthe pump. In ymy improved pump I overcome this difficulty byusing ahollowpiston-rod or pipe, which passes through both the upper and lowervalves of the pump, theV lower extremity of the pipe opening below thelower valve, so as to convey the gas from the bottom of the well withoutpassing into the chamber of the pump, and thef'upper extremity of thepipe or hollow piston-"rod havfissures or veins in the rock throughwhich the oil passes into the well renders it frequently necessary touse the pump to exhaust the air and gas out of the well, so as topromote the flow of oil into the well, for not only does the pressure ofgas in the well drive back the oil into the fissures of the rock, so asoften to depress the oil in the well below the bottom of the pump, butthe gas in passing through the oil-veins remains at the highest pointsand interrupts the passage of the oil into the cavity of the well. Toremedy this, it is necessary to draw the oil into thewell by suction,when the pump, being no longer immersedin oil',-acts as an air-pump.This lng a Valve opening upward, thus enabling is the ,case also, thoughina less degree, when there is a ilow of oil into the well, butinsluiticient to fill the chamber of the pump at each stroke. In both ofthese conditions of things the upstroke of the plunger of the pumpcreates a partial vacuum in the pump-chamber, and whenever this is thecase the'pressure of the column of oil (or water, as the case may be) inthe well-tube above the valves is a serious obstacle to the working ofthe pump. When there is no deficiency of oil in the well, so that thesupply constantly keeps the lower extremity of the pump-chamber immersedin the iiuid to be raised, and where there is no gas forced into thechamber of the pump, the columnof oil or water in the pump-tube abovethe yalves israised by the elevation of the plunger, and the oil orwater ilows into the pump-chamber under the plunger, and, beingprevented from returning bythe closing of the lower valve, it sustainsthe plunger, on the descent of which the iiuid passes above the plunger,thus preventing any descent of the column of water in the well-'tube onthe downstroke of the plunger; but whenever the extremity of the pump isnot immersed and the pump sucks air and there is a partial vacuum in thechamber on the elevation of the plunger the pressure of the column ofwater or oil in the welltube above the plunger has to be overcome by adead-lift on every upstroke, and on the downstroke this pressure servesas an additional force to drive the plunger down. This of course causesthe steam-engine by which the pump is operated to work very irregularly,thesudden jerk of the piston-rod on its descent frequently straining orbreaking the 4engine and bursting the tubing of the well.

Where the chamber of the pump is only partially lled on its upstroke,the oil or water which is raised as it passes up through the upper valvemeets and must overcome the force of the descending column above, andthere is a great loss of power in changing the direction of this highcolumn of oil or water from 'a downward to an upward iiow. For thesereasonsfit is necessary to use a steamengine of considerably greaterpower than,`

would otherwise be requisite, and even then the difculty is butpartially overcome. The importance of remedying this evil is obviouswhen it is considered that in a well of iive hundred feet deep thepressure of a column of water in the well-tube on the plunger is equalto two hundred and twenty-five pounds on a square inch. To` overcomethis, I place a stationary valve at the top, as well as at the bottom,of the pump-chamber, the valve at the top of the pump-chamber serving asa check-valve and the upper valve or plunger moving up and down betweenthe two stationary valves. I have further improved the pump by theaddition of an air-vessel attached to the piston-rod above thepumpchambenwhich serves to lessen the downward force of the piston-rodand preserve an upward current of water or oil in the tube of the well.Without this addition the water or oil in the tube commences to fall onevery downstroke of the piston whenever the pumpchamber has not beenfilled with oil or water on the preceding upstroke, so that the upwardcurrent is obliged to meet and overcome the force ot' the descendingcolumn, thus causing a great loss of power.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to make and use my improvedpump, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation. v i

The chamber a of the pump is a metallic cylinder, usually of brass andof the ordinary construction. It is slightly tapered at its lowerextremity to prevent the lower valveseatb being forced through it. Thelower valve-seat b is a metallicl cylinders u rrounded with leather, soas to make it air-tight, or ground into its seat in the lower extremityof the pump-chamber a. It has a valve c, opening upward, through whichthe hollow pistonrod d passes. The valve c works up and down on thehollow piston-rod d, and .the valve is packed with leather at c, so asto make the valve tight when closed. The hollow pistonrod d passesthrough rings, one f above and the other f below the valve-seat,which-rings serve as guides for the piston-rod and are connected withthe valve-seat by the arms g g, &c. The upper ring f is so placed as togive suicient play to the valve c, and yet prevent its being raised uptoo far by the piston-rod d.

The piston-rod d is an iron or brass tube of small diameter, whichextends upward to the top of the well and downward below thepumpchamber, as seen in Fig. l. Near its lower end, which is open, it isperforated by holes z' e', dro., to allow of the free entrance of gasinto it. The lower extremity is furnished with a button q (see Fig. 6)to avoid injury to the pipe in case it should strike the bottom of thewell and prevent the piston-rod being drawn up through the lowervalve-seat. The hollow piston-rod is made in sections of convenientlength, which are united by means of a screw-coupling (see Fig. 3) intwo pieces n n', into which the extremities of the hollow piston-rod arescrewed, the coupling-piecesn and n also screwing the one inside theother. T he upper one n of these coupling-pieces is furnished with threeor four wings r, made of metal, wood, or other material, each wingprojecting an `equal distance from the coupling, their outer edges beingin the line of a circle of somewhat smaller diameter .than 'that of thetube in which they are to work, as seen in Fig. 9, which is across-section of the tube and coupling at 0c of Fig. 3. By thisarrangement, which occurs atevery joint in the pipe, the hollowpiston-rod is kept straight j and in a central position in the tubing ofthe well, and the lateral strain on the coupling, which would otherwisebe very great, is prei vented.

At the. top ot'V the hollow piston -rod, (seen in by its own gravitywhen there is no gas emitted, so as to prevent the descent of air intothe bottom of the well, which would interfere with the raising of lthe,oil or water. An orifice t is made through one side of the couplinginto the cavity s ofthe coupling 0 at top of the piston-rod, to which isattached a iexible tube or hose u, by means of which the ina-mmable gaswhich escapes from the well is lconducted away from the well, so as toprevent accidental explosions. lt may be collected for illuminatingpurposes, or allowed to pass into the furnace of the steam-engine. Fig.10 is a cross-section through the coupling o immediately above the valver at the line oc x, Fig. 4.

The upper or movable valve-seat h is similar in construction to thelower valve-seat b,

' excepting that it is of uniform diameter, and

that instead of being loose on the piston-rod it is attached to it bythe coupling m above the upper guide-ring k, so that the valve-seat hworks up and down in the chamber of the pump.,: The valve c of themovable valveseat h works on the piston-rod, which passes through vitscenter. It is packed around the piston-rodrwith a gasket at ein likemanner as the low'jer valve c. The lower ring la of the valve-seat orplunger h is hollow for a short distance from below upward and hasscrewthreads cutin it, so as to take the upper end of the upper ring fof the lower valve-seat, so that when it is desired to draw out thelower valve-seat b from the pump it may be done by screwing thering icon the ring f and raising the two valve-seats together by means of thepiston-rod d, which will also draw out the check-valve and its seat.

At the top of the pump-chamber a, which, as before stated, is the lowestsection of the tubing of the well, is placed the check-valve o, itsvalve-seat w being inserted in the end of thetube or chamber a,which ismade slightly Haring, so that the check-valve seat w may not be forceddown into the chamber. The check-valve n is so constructed that it worksloosely on the piston-rod d, which passes Patent, and any other couplingmay be used in connection with my improved pump.

It is not absolutely necessary that the piston-rod should be hollow allthe way up to the top ofthe well,as the gas may be allowed to escapeinto the tubing of the well above the pump by making small holes vin thehollow piston-rod above the pump-chamber and seating a small valve, likep, in the hollow pistonrod below the holes for the escape of gas, inwhich case the piston-rod may be made solid above the point where theseholes cease; but as the free escape of gas from oil-wells is a fruitfulsource of accident it is better to construct the piston-rod hollow allthe way up, so as to lead the gas away from the well, as beforedescribed.

It is obvious by reference to Fig. l (which represents the piston-rodand plunger raised up) that on the downstroke of the piston-rod it willprotrude the length of the stroke below thelower valve-seat. This may insome cases, where the oil does not collect in a large quantity in thebottomof the well, be inconvenient, and the movement of the piston-rodthrough the lowest valve c may render it liable to leak, whereas it ismore important to have the lowest valve tight than either of the others.These considerations may render it advisable to modify the constructionof the pump somewhat by making the gas-pipe which passes through the pump-chamber and the upper and lower valves c and c 'stationary andattaching the lower valve-seat b to this pipe, which must be made ofsmaller diameter than the hollow piston-rod,so as to passup inside ofit. The hollow piston-rod d is attached to the upper valve-seat orplunger h, as before described, and terminates at the lower ring 7c ofthe upper valve-seat. The result of this modified arrangement is that'the hollow piston rod passes like a telescope-slide over the short pipewhich passes up through the pumpchamber a, and which is attached to thelower valve-seat b, and consequently the piston-rod does not project atany part of the stroke of the plunger below the bottom of the lowervalve-seat. This involves no substantial variation from the constructionand arrangement hereinbefore described, and may be adopted, if foundpreferable.

To the piston-rod d at a sufficient distance above the check-valve v toavoid contact with it on the descent of the piston-rod is placed anair-vessel 2, which is a hollow metallic cylinder closed at the top andopen at the bottom. y This air-vessel is so attached to the piston-rodas to surround it, and is of such diameter as to leave sufficient spacearound it and between it and the sides of the tubing :1:

to allow the oil or water forced up bythe pump to pass upward throughthe tubing. It is also of sufficient length-say, ten to twelve feet-tocontainair enough to operate bythe elastic force of the air on thecolumn of liquid in the well-tube, so as to keep up the upward iiow ofoil or water on the descent of the plunger of the pump. Fig. 8 is across-section of the well-tubing and hollow piston-rod immediately belowthe air-vessel at m 0c, Fig.` 2,and shows the shape and construction ofthe air-vessel z. Fig. 7 is a cross-section of the well-tube through thecoupling fn ot' the hollow piston-rod d atv v, Fig. 2, showing how thepiston-rod coupling is squared below the guide-wings r fr, so as to givea hold for the clamp by which the couplings are attached or detached.Fig. 6 is a cross-section through .fr w 0c, Fig. l.

f 'The operation of myimproved pump is as follows: A vacuum is formed inthe pumpchamber by raising the plunger h in the ordinary way, when theoil or water raises the lower valve c and enters Ithe chamber of thepump. On the descent of the plunger the lower valve c closes and theupper valve c opens, causing the liquid to pass up above the uppervalve. On the elevation ot' the"` plunger the check-valve 'U rises toallow the passage of the oil or water upwardinto the tubing above thepump-chamber, and as soon as the plunger begins to fall the check-valvecloses, sustaining the entire pressure of the column of liquid in thewell and relieving the plunger, thus allowing it to work on its down-`stroke with the force given to it by the stea1n-. This preengine and itsown gravity only. vents the sudden jerk which is caused as soon as theengine passes its center and the piston begins to descend by the weightof the column of water or oil which the pump had to raise beinginstantaneously applied to aid the engine in depressing' the piston-rodwhenever the plunger is not sustained by the presence of oil or water inthe chamber ot the pump. NVhen, as is often the case, this column of oilor water exerts a pressure on the plunger of the pump of two hundred andtwenty-iive pounds to the square inch, it requires a very strong engineto sustain the constant jar and strain, which I have just described; butby use of my improvement this difficulty is in a great measure obviated;but with the use of the check-valve, as described, the column ot' oil orwater in the well-tube rises with the piston-rod, but stands still onits descent, and a great loss of power is experienced in consequence ofthe necessity of setting again in motion-and giving an upward iiow tothe column of oil or water. This is greatly relieved by the use of theair-vessel e', for when the oil or water is rising in the `well-tube onthe upstroke of the plunger the contraction of the area of the tube bythe air-vessel causes the liquid to be forced up into the air-vessel,compressing the air init very greatly, and as soon as the piston beginsto fall the 'air in the vessel z expands and tends to preserve theupward flow of the water or oil in the tube, notwithstanding the descentof the piston. The air in the vessel 2, which is attached to thepiston-rod d, also serves asa buoy or Iioat to lessen the gravity of thepiston-rod and retards its descent, thus still further overcoming itstoo rapid fall and rendering the working of the pump more uniform on itsup and down stroke.

The `hollow piston-rod, passing through the upper and lower valves ofthe pump, ards a means of escape for gas or iixed air from the bottomof. the well, and as the .pipe which forms the piston-rod, o r whichpasses up into it, has no side openings in any part which traverses thespace between thevalves the gas is conducted away from the chamber ofthe pump and leaves it free to work, as described. The button vq on thebottom of the piston-rod not only gives it strength, lbut serves to stirup any sediment at the bottom of the well and causes it to mix with theoil or water, sofas to be pumped up with it, and thus prevents thechoking of the well.

In some vcases where there is only a small flow of oil into the wellinsufficient to fill the chamber of the pump atV each upstroke of theplunger it maybe desirable to allow a little air to pass into thepump-chamber, down the hollow piston-rod, so as to make the pump workmore easily. This can be effected by making a small aperture through thevalve p on top of the hollow piston-rod, which will allow the plunger torise easily, even if there be not sufficient oil to fill thepump-chamber on each stroke of the pump.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,isi l. The use of a hollow piston-rod or pipe extending through thelowest valve as well as through the upper valve or plunger of pumps andfurnished with a valve at top, of the hollow piston-rod or gas-pipe,constructed and arranged, substantially as described, for the purpose ofallowing of the escape of gas or iixed air from the bottom of deep wellswithout interfering with the operation of thevalves of the pump.

2. The combination of a hollow lpiston-rod for the plunger of a pump,passing 4through all the valves of the 'pump-cylinder, with a flexible`tube and valve at the top of the hollow piston-rod, constructedsubstantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore described.

3. The use of a check-valve seated in the pump-chamber directly aboveand in addition to the ordinary upper and lower pumpvalves for thepurpose of sustaining and relieving the plunger ot' the pressure of thecolumn of oil or other liquid in the pump-tube above the valves whenthere is av partial vacuum in the pumpcharnber on the upstroke of theplunger.

4. The use of an air-vessel attached to the piston-rod of apump for thepurpose of checking the too rapld descent of the plunger and of keepingup the upward flow of the column ot water, oil, or other liquid in thepump-tube above the valves during the descent of the plunger,substantially as hereinbefore `described. f

In testimony whereof I, the said JAMES OLD, have hereunto set my hand.

JAMES OLD.-

Witnesses:

M. G. OUsH1NG, A. S. NIcHoLsoN.

